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Atlanta Free Republic
Emerging from the ruins of pre-war Atlanta, the Atlanta Free Republic is a totalitarian state effectively controlled by its military. The Free Republic was in turn born from revolution, replacing the previous, despotic Atlanta Confederation, which was built on the back of slavery and an entrenched nobility. History The Great War and its aftermath (2077-2130) Like the rest of the world, Atlanta was devastated in the Great War, scorched by nuclear fire. Most of its population were killed, with half of the city reduced to rubble in the initial conflagration. The few survivors tried to flee the city, with many of them instead succumbing to disease, starvation radiation fallout, the black rain or, sadly often, each other. Fear and mistrust became common within the decimated population, which saw it splinter into isolated communities. Many of these would eventually evolve into tribal groups. The fallen city remained abandoned for decades. Only the bravest, most desperate or most foolhardy would venture into it for whatever reason. Most of those died, either at the hands of ghouls, from radiation poisoning, or from any number of a myriad hazards within the ruins. Many of the tribals came to see the place as cursed, and chose to avoid it. Over time, settlements, both tribals and homesteaders, would grow up around the ruins, but few dared to get close to it. It was not until the late 2120s, nearly fifty years after the war, that the radiation died down enough to make the city safe to enter, and that was still discounting its many other hazards. Slowly, the ruins began to draw in scavengers and prospectors looking for pre-war tech or valuables, or even records of the past, that might be valuable to the emergent cultures. Drawing on the lessons of the past, these groups were usually better organized than simply lone wanderers, and better equipped to deal with the obstacles in their way. At first, these expeditions were usually objective based and directed, not lingering too long within the ruins. However, as the wealth that the ruins offered became more and more apparent, these expeditions became broader and more involved, with many setting up base camps to work from, or rally to if the worst came to the worst. The first permanent settlement within the ruins was established in 2130, set up inside an intact and fortified pre-war library. Growth and division (2130-2170) This settlement would not remain alone for long. News began to spread of its existence, drawing others into the city. Many of these came to try their own luck with the ruins, hoping for some significant find. Others came simply looking for their own space to live, seeing the city as a way to build a new life and carve out their own space. An outbreak of internecine warfare between a number of tribal groups and homesteaders in the 2130s accelerated the process, as many fled into the ruins of the city in order to find their own space to live away from the fighting. Within a decade, Atlanta was home to numerous communities. Most of these were small, covering little more than a city block, and often widely separated from each other. Distance wasn’t the only thing dividing them, as much of the city had been over-run with wild animals, mutated creatures, ghouls and other hazards over the years. Not all of these settlers were begnin by any stretch either. Raiders were among those who took up residence in the city, preying on the other settlers around them. No central authority existed within the city, and no one settlement proved to have any prominence over the other. The result was that conflicts became commonplace within the city, as different groups fought with each other. Many of these problems came from conflicts over resources, pre-war technology or scavenging rights to particular locations. In other cases, they preyed on each other for survival or to establish control. Some had inherited conflicts from outside the city that simply carried over into the new environment. The outcome was that while the city now boasted numerous settlements and other communities, there was no cooperation between them. Instead, it would spend four decades locked in low-level battles between its population. These conflicts served little purpose other than to sow mistrust and prevent any one group from rising to prominence, or even forming meaningful alliances. It was not until the arrival of outside intervention that any semblance of peace would come to the city, and that was at a hefty price. Invasion and unification (2170-2189) Originally starting out as pre-war survivalist commune, the Georgia Hills Confederacy had quietly grown in power and prominence over the decades. While the tribals and the inhabitants of Atlanta had fought among themselves, the leaders of the Confederacy had spent their time quietly amassing power and resources in isolation. While they had their own share of problems (including several famines and a civil war in the 2140s), the Confederacy’s leaders remained confident for their own future. Their biggest boost came in 2170 when a Confederacy scouting force stumbled into a cache of pre-war military weapons, likely left behind by a National Guard unit after the Great War. These weapons were far ahead of those used by the Tribals and other groups in and around Atlanta, giving the Confederacy a considerable technological edge. With this new arsenal at their disposal, the Confederacy’s leader, General Jackson Longstreet, announced a bold vision for the future. The Confederacy would take the city and make it their own, and build their own empire. Besides their weapons, the Confederacy had been quietly building up an army from its people. Better trained and organised then the tribals and raiders that they targeted, the Confederacy Army was now bolstered by the presence of automatic rifles and even energy weapons that they had recovered. Strict discipline (including harsh punishments for failure) and rewards for loyalty and performance ensured that morale remained high. Despite these advantages, however, the Confederacy moved slowly and cautiously towards Atlanta, careful not to overstretch themselves or bite off more than they could handle at once. Instead, they picked off communities one by one, bringing them down with superior skill, organisation and firepower. The survivors of the conquered communities were enslaved, and put to work to serve the Confederacy. This slow and methodical approach enabled the Confederacy to pluck off its disorganised, factitious foes at their leisure, all the while creating a steady supply chain to support their advance. While the Confederacy had suffered losses and setbacks in their campaign thus far, there was no question of their success. Confident that they were ready, Longstreet ordered his troops to enter Atlanta proper and bring the city under their control. The army took a deliberate, divide and conquer approach, singling out and crushing each independent community in turn. As expected, the other settlements refused to work with each other, divided by decades of mistrust while also not quite understanding what they faced. Even with these advantages, the campaign for Atlanta was by no means an easy one. Despite the Confederacy’s advantages, their enemies still knew the city better than they did, allowing them to dig in and use what they could to defend themselves. Other hazards also slowed their advance, as wild creatures proved to be as much a risk as enemy fire. On numerous occasions, the Confederacy was forced to conscript troops from their conquered peoples, using them as cannon fodder against enemy defences. In April 2189, the last organised settlement in Atlanta fell to the confederacy. General Longstreet declared himself the president of the newly formed Atlanta Confederacy, proclaiming it to be an ‘empire of humanity in a sea of filth’. The Confederacy (2189-2246) Uprisings and War (2246-2262) The Republic (2262-2287) Description Government Millitary Elite Guard Peacekeepers State Militia Notable Locations Palace Stadium Slums Factories Notable People Silas Haydon Scarlett Haydon Tobias Shaw Strike Red Shadow Category:Places Category:Groups